[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51521-51523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20644]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0116]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Air Brake Systems; 
Technical Report on the Effectiveness of Antilock Braking Systems in 
Heavy Truck Tractors and Trailers

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Request for comments on technical report.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a Technical 
Report its existing Safety Standard 121, Air Brake Systems. The 
report's title is: The Effectiveness of ABS [Antilock Braking Systems] 
in Heavy Truck Tractors and Trailers.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than December 20, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Report: The technical report is available on the Internet 
for viewing in PDF format at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811339.pdf. You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by 
sending a self-addressed mailing label to Charles J. Kahane (NVS-431), 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    Comments: You may submit comments [identified by Docket Number 
NHTSA-2010-0116] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

[[Page 51522]]

    You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9826.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Procedural Matters section of this document. Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation 
Division, NVS-431, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2560. E-
mail: [email protected].
    For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of 
existing regulations and programs: You may see a list of published 
evaluation reports at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/cats/listpublications.aspx?Id=226&ShowBy=Category and if you click on any 
report you will be able to view it in PDF format.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Safety Standard 121 (49 CFR 571.121) 
mandates antilock braking systems (ABS) on all new air-braked vehicles 
with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or greater. ABS is required on tractors 
manufactured on or after March 1, 1997, and air-braked semi-trailers 
and single-unit trucks manufactured on or after March 1, 1998. The 
primary findings of this report are the following:
     The best estimate of a reduction by ABS on the tractor 
unit in all levels of police-reported crashes for air-braked tractor-
trailers is 3 percent. This is based on data from seven States and 
controls for the age of the tractor at the time of the crash. This 
represents a statistically significant 6-percent reduction in the 
crashes where ABS is assumed to be potentially influential, relative to 
a control group, of about the same number of crashes, where ABS is 
likely to be irrelevant.
     In fatal crashes, there is a non-significant 2-percent 
reduction in crash involvement, resulting from a 4-percent reduction in 
crashes where ABS should be potentially influential. The age of the 
tractor at the time of the crash is not important. Rather, external 
factors of urbanization, road speed, and ambient lighting are 
influential and are accounted for in the final estimate.
     Among the types of crashes that ABS influences, there is 
large reduction in jack-knives, off-road over-turns, and at-fault 
involvements in collisions with other vehicles (except front-to-rear 
collisions). Counteracting are an increase in the number of 
involvements of hitting animals, pedestrians, or bicycles and, only in 
fatal crashes, rear-ending lead vehicles in two-vehicle crashes.

In April 2009, NHTSA issued An In-Service Analysis of Maintenance and 
Repair Expenses for the Anti-Lock Brake System and Underride Guard for 
Tractors and Trailers (74 FR 18803).

Procedural Matters

How can I influence NHTSA's thinking on this subject?

    NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report. NHTSA will 
submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, 
will supplement or revise the report.

How do I prepare and submit comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket 
number of this document (NHTSA-2010-0116) in your comments.
    Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 
553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary 
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management, 
fax them, or use the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The mailing address is 
U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, 
West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 1-202-493-2251. To use the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments.
    We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Charles 
J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation Division, NVS-431, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20590 (or e-mail them to [email protected]). He 
can check if your comments have been received at the Docket and he can 
expedite their review by NHTSA.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How do I submit confidential business information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, send three copies of your complete submission, 
including the information you claim to be confidential business 
information, to the Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 
Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in our 
confidential business information regulation (49 CFR part 512).
    In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the 
claimed confidential business information to U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
or submit them via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

Will the agency consider late comments?

    In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also 
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the materials placed in the docket for this document 
(e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other 
interested persons) at any time by going to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also 
read the materials at the Docket Management Facility by going to

[[Page 51523]]

the street address given above under ADDRESSES. The Docket Management 
Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

James F. Simons,
Director, Office of Regulatory Analysis and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2010-20644 Filed 8-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P